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- Ugly West, The
Ugly West, The
Updated
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Genre:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1968 and 1966
Original Running Time:
165 and 179 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
94 and 86 minutes
Time Cut:
71 and 86 minutes
Additional Links:
Synopsis:
The Ugly West is a fanedit project by TMBTM and CBB. Both faneditors tackle one legendary Sergio Leone western to present them in much shorter, modernized and very different to the original versions.
Intention:
Tmbtm and CBB wanted to do a project together and decided to take the most famous Spaghetti westerns of all time, not to make them better, but to present them in much shorter, modernized versions and give them the true fanedit treatment of turning them upside down. What started as a fun idea, ended up in 2 drastically altered versions, both serious, yet highly entertaining for both fans of the originals and western fans in general.
Special Thanks:
Thanks to Blueyoda for his bonus feature video and the making of the trailer.
Release Information:
DVD
Special Features:
DVD Extras:
teaser, trailer, My Name Is Blueyoda special
4 trailers for Tmbtm’s edits
1 special feature for Harmonica (King Of The Dogs)
4 trailers for CBB’s edits
4 previews for CBB’s edits
1 special feature for 2 Glorious Bastards (Including Johnny Cash)
1 subtitle extra (sing along with Johnny)
animated menus
teaser, trailer, My Name Is Blueyoda special
4 trailers for Tmbtm’s edits
1 special feature for Harmonica (King Of The Dogs)
4 trailers for CBB’s edits
4 previews for CBB’s edits
1 special feature for 2 Glorious Bastards (Including Johnny Cash)
1 subtitle extra (sing along with Johnny)
animated menus
Editing Details:
HARMONICA
“Harmonica” is a 1h11 version of Once Upon a Time in the West.
Now when TMBTM started to work on this edit, he planned to make it fun, but in the end it turned as a serious version.
The first version of the fanedit he made still included the character of Cheyenne, played by Jason Robards and he added an Iggy Pop song as his main music theme, but in the end it was the only “fun” thing about the edit and it was a bit jarring. So he decided to completely removed his character (adding one more common thing between CBB’s edit and his).
Removing Cheyenne was not easy at all, and it turned a “quick made” edit into something way more difficult. It turned what was just a shorter version into something way more different.
Forcing the relations of the characters into a new direction through the removal of a key character was a super difficult task. Cheyenne had no real purpose in TMBTM’s shorter workprint and that’s why in the end, he had to be removed entirely.
The fanedit also has various new music tracks, replacing some of the famous Morricone score and giving these scenes an entirely new atmosphere.
TWO GLORIOUS BASTARDS:
It all started with the German title of the original THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, which is 2 GLORREICHE HALUNKEN (translation: Two Glorious Bastards). Now why the German distributors decided for such an odd title change is unknown, but it inspired CBB to drop THE BAD from his edit and to make things more fun, he also decided to try to remove every bit of the famous and awesome Morricone soundtrack and replace it with Johnny Cash.
While the removal of THE BAD was not that hard, even though it required to drop some of the most famous scenes in Western history (e.G.the cemetery duel), replacing the score was a close to impossible task, because the music is deeply woven into the original sound and cannot be just separated.
Using various complicated techniques and spending months on the audio recreation, CBB managed to give the fanedit an entirely new atmosphere, not better than the original, but highly entertaining and very different from the original.
Each Johnny Cash song was carefully chosen to fit to both the atmosphere and the contents of the scene, in which it was used. Every song was filtered to better represent the 1960s audio quality of the original sound.
In the end almost 50% of the new audio is a replacement of the original audio, using bits and pieces from the original, some other movies and sound effect collections.
“Harmonica” is a 1h11 version of Once Upon a Time in the West.
Now when TMBTM started to work on this edit, he planned to make it fun, but in the end it turned as a serious version.
The first version of the fanedit he made still included the character of Cheyenne, played by Jason Robards and he added an Iggy Pop song as his main music theme, but in the end it was the only “fun” thing about the edit and it was a bit jarring. So he decided to completely removed his character (adding one more common thing between CBB’s edit and his).
Removing Cheyenne was not easy at all, and it turned a “quick made” edit into something way more difficult. It turned what was just a shorter version into something way more different.
Forcing the relations of the characters into a new direction through the removal of a key character was a super difficult task. Cheyenne had no real purpose in TMBTM’s shorter workprint and that’s why in the end, he had to be removed entirely.
The fanedit also has various new music tracks, replacing some of the famous Morricone score and giving these scenes an entirely new atmosphere.
TWO GLORIOUS BASTARDS:
It all started with the German title of the original THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, which is 2 GLORREICHE HALUNKEN (translation: Two Glorious Bastards). Now why the German distributors decided for such an odd title change is unknown, but it inspired CBB to drop THE BAD from his edit and to make things more fun, he also decided to try to remove every bit of the famous and awesome Morricone soundtrack and replace it with Johnny Cash.
While the removal of THE BAD was not that hard, even though it required to drop some of the most famous scenes in Western history (e.G.the cemetery duel), replacing the score was a close to impossible task, because the music is deeply woven into the original sound and cannot be just separated.
Using various complicated techniques and spending months on the audio recreation, CBB managed to give the fanedit an entirely new atmosphere, not better than the original, but highly entertaining and very different from the original.
Each Johnny Cash song was carefully chosen to fit to both the atmosphere and the contents of the scene, in which it was used. Every song was filtered to better represent the 1960s audio quality of the original sound.
In the end almost 50% of the new audio is a replacement of the original audio, using bits and pieces from the original, some other movies and sound effect collections.
Cuts and Additions:
Harmonica
- Cheyenne was removed from the movie.
- Some scenes are reorganized, and/or merged.
Example: the scene where Claudia Cardinale is searching for something in the house is two scenes from the original movie merged into one
- New musics. But All from Morricone (or musicians playing covers of Morricones music).
Two Glorious Bastards
- Angel Eyes (The Bad) was completely removed from the movie.
- Tuco’s brother was removed, because the score could not be removed from his scenes.
- The bridge scene is heavily shortened.
- Tuco and Blondie are not caught by the Blues and imprisoned.
- Some of the scenes from the extended edition were removed, because they were boring
- Cheyenne was removed from the movie.
- Some scenes are reorganized, and/or merged.
Example: the scene where Claudia Cardinale is searching for something in the house is two scenes from the original movie merged into one
- New musics. But All from Morricone (or musicians playing covers of Morricones music).
Two Glorious Bastards
- Angel Eyes (The Bad) was completely removed from the movie.
- Tuco’s brother was removed, because the score could not be removed from his scenes.
- The bridge scene is heavily shortened.
- Tuco and Blondie are not caught by the Blues and imprisoned.
- Some of the scenes from the extended edition were removed, because they were boring
Trailer (by Blueyoda)
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Genre:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1968 and 1966
Original Running Time:
165 and 179 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
94 and 86 minutes
Time Cut:
71 and 86 minutes
Additional Links:
Synopsis:
The Ugly West is a fanedit project by TMBTM and CBB. Both faneditors tackle one legendary Sergio Leone western to present them in much shorter, modernized and very different to the original versions.
Intention:
Tmbtm and CBB wanted to do a project together and decided to take the most famous Spaghetti westerns of all time, not to make them better, but to present them in much shorter, modernized versions and give them the true fanedit treatment of turning them upside down. What started as a fun idea, ended up in 2 drastically altered versions, both serious, yet highly entertaining for both fans of the originals and western fans in general.
Special Thanks:
Thanks to Blueyoda for his bonus feature video and the making of the trailer.
Release Information:
DVD
Special Features:
DVD Extras:
teaser, trailer, My Name Is Blueyoda special
4 trailers for Tmbtm’s edits
1 special feature for Harmonica (King Of The Dogs)
4 trailers for CBB’s edits
4 previews for CBB’s edits
1 special feature for 2 Glorious Bastards (Including Johnny Cash)
1 subtitle extra (sing along with Johnny)
animated menus
teaser, trailer, My Name Is Blueyoda special
4 trailers for Tmbtm’s edits
1 special feature for Harmonica (King Of The Dogs)
4 trailers for CBB’s edits
4 previews for CBB’s edits
1 special feature for 2 Glorious Bastards (Including Johnny Cash)
1 subtitle extra (sing along with Johnny)
animated menus
Editing Details:
HARMONICA
“Harmonica” is a 1h11 version of Once Upon a Time in the West.
Now when TMBTM started to work on this edit, he planned to make it fun, but in the end it turned as a serious version.
The first version of the fanedit he made still included the character of Cheyenne, played by Jason Robards and he added an Iggy Pop song as his main music theme, but in the end it was the only “fun” thing about the edit and it was a bit jarring. So he decided to completely removed his character (adding one more common thing between CBB’s edit and his).
Removing Cheyenne was not easy at all, and it turned a “quick made” edit into something way more difficult. It turned what was just a shorter version into something way more different.
Forcing the relations of the characters into a new direction through the removal of a key character was a super difficult task. Cheyenne had no real purpose in TMBTM’s shorter workprint and that’s why in the end, he had to be removed entirely.
The fanedit also has various new music tracks, replacing some of the famous Morricone score and giving these scenes an entirely new atmosphere.
TWO GLORIOUS BASTARDS:
It all started with the German title of the original THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, which is 2 GLORREICHE HALUNKEN (translation: Two Glorious Bastards). Now why the German distributors decided for such an odd title change is unknown, but it inspired CBB to drop THE BAD from his edit and to make things more fun, he also decided to try to remove every bit of the famous and awesome Morricone soundtrack and replace it with Johnny Cash.
While the removal of THE BAD was not that hard, even though it required to drop some of the most famous scenes in Western history (e.G.the cemetery duel), replacing the score was a close to impossible task, because the music is deeply woven into the original sound and cannot be just separated.
Using various complicated techniques and spending months on the audio recreation, CBB managed to give the fanedit an entirely new atmosphere, not better than the original, but highly entertaining and very different from the original.
Each Johnny Cash song was carefully chosen to fit to both the atmosphere and the contents of the scene, in which it was used. Every song was filtered to better represent the 1960s audio quality of the original sound.
In the end almost 50% of the new audio is a replacement of the original audio, using bits and pieces from the original, some other movies and sound effect collections.
“Harmonica” is a 1h11 version of Once Upon a Time in the West.
Now when TMBTM started to work on this edit, he planned to make it fun, but in the end it turned as a serious version.
The first version of the fanedit he made still included the character of Cheyenne, played by Jason Robards and he added an Iggy Pop song as his main music theme, but in the end it was the only “fun” thing about the edit and it was a bit jarring. So he decided to completely removed his character (adding one more common thing between CBB’s edit and his).
Removing Cheyenne was not easy at all, and it turned a “quick made” edit into something way more difficult. It turned what was just a shorter version into something way more different.
Forcing the relations of the characters into a new direction through the removal of a key character was a super difficult task. Cheyenne had no real purpose in TMBTM’s shorter workprint and that’s why in the end, he had to be removed entirely.
The fanedit also has various new music tracks, replacing some of the famous Morricone score and giving these scenes an entirely new atmosphere.
TWO GLORIOUS BASTARDS:
It all started with the German title of the original THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, which is 2 GLORREICHE HALUNKEN (translation: Two Glorious Bastards). Now why the German distributors decided for such an odd title change is unknown, but it inspired CBB to drop THE BAD from his edit and to make things more fun, he also decided to try to remove every bit of the famous and awesome Morricone soundtrack and replace it with Johnny Cash.
While the removal of THE BAD was not that hard, even though it required to drop some of the most famous scenes in Western history (e.G.the cemetery duel), replacing the score was a close to impossible task, because the music is deeply woven into the original sound and cannot be just separated.
Using various complicated techniques and spending months on the audio recreation, CBB managed to give the fanedit an entirely new atmosphere, not better than the original, but highly entertaining and very different from the original.
Each Johnny Cash song was carefully chosen to fit to both the atmosphere and the contents of the scene, in which it was used. Every song was filtered to better represent the 1960s audio quality of the original sound.
In the end almost 50% of the new audio is a replacement of the original audio, using bits and pieces from the original, some other movies and sound effect collections.
Cuts and Additions:
Harmonica
- Cheyenne was removed from the movie.
- Some scenes are reorganized, and/or merged.
Example: the scene where Claudia Cardinale is searching for something in the house is two scenes from the original movie merged into one
- New musics. But All from Morricone (or musicians playing covers of Morricones music).
Two Glorious Bastards
- Angel Eyes (The Bad) was completely removed from the movie.
- Tuco’s brother was removed, because the score could not be removed from his scenes.
- The bridge scene is heavily shortened.
- Tuco and Blondie are not caught by the Blues and imprisoned.
- Some of the scenes from the extended edition were removed, because they were boring
- Cheyenne was removed from the movie.
- Some scenes are reorganized, and/or merged.
Example: the scene where Claudia Cardinale is searching for something in the house is two scenes from the original movie merged into one
- New musics. But All from Morricone (or musicians playing covers of Morricones music).
Two Glorious Bastards
- Angel Eyes (The Bad) was completely removed from the movie.
- Tuco’s brother was removed, because the score could not be removed from his scenes.
- The bridge scene is heavily shortened.
- Tuco and Blondie are not caught by the Blues and imprisoned.
- Some of the scenes from the extended edition were removed, because they were boring
Trailer (by Blueyoda)
Trusted Reviewer reviews
4 reviews
Overall rating
9.1
Audio/Video Quality
8.5(2)
Audio Editing
9.5(2)
Visual Editing
9.5(2)
Narrative
9.0(2)
Enjoyment
9.3(4)
Overall rating
8.8
Audio/Video Quality
7.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
9.0
(Review for HARMONICA)
I first saw Once Upon a Time in the West a couple months ago, and while I enjoyed it, it was painfully slow. When the final duel took place and the reveal of who Harmonica was, it made me realise that the film really should've been about Harmonica & Frank's rivalry, and not the extraneous plotlines that took up most of the film. This edit is exactly what I wanted from this film. It cuts over half of the film's run-time, yet does not feel rushed at all. TMBTM wisely chooses which scenes to keep and which to cut. Additionally, a lot of kept scenes are tightened, which fixes the poor pacing of the original. It's hard to believe the original runs at nearly 3 hours after watching this.
(Spoilers for the edit)
Cheyenne is completely cut. While I liked his character, he was not necessary to Harmonica's story, and this edit really proves that.
Comments on the edit:
*not a fan of the rescore with the hip-hop Harmonic theme at the McBain farm shooting, and the final stand-off. The original has more weight to it.
*very good cut making it seem like the train it cuts to (after the McBain farm shooting) is the train Harmonica is on in the opening scene.
*Re-orders scenes so that Harmonica looking for Frank comes after Frank being introduced via the McBain farm shooting. Good choice, as now the audience know who Harmonica is after.
*The cut between Frank threatening Harmonica and shooting Wobbles is quite sudden.
*The intercutting of 2 (or 3?) different scenes to make it look like Morton releases Harmonica and pays him to go after Frank is very, very clever. This cut is crucial in eliminating Cheyenne from the film.
*Perhaps more should've have been kept between Frank & Morton to explain their conflict better, since in this edit it's not that clear why Morton decides to have Frank killed. I guess we can assume Morton saw Frank as a rival and decided to kill him before Frank replaced him.
*Minor gripe, but I would've ended the film on a shot of Harmonica rather than Jill.
Overall, this was a brilliant edit, and it'll definitely be my go-to on future re-watches of "...in the West". TMBTM has really done an excellent job here of creating a more concise and slightly altered narrative which is, in my opinion, superior to that of the original's.
Would really like to see this remastered (preferably without the hip hop rescore) one day in HD, as the film has been re-released on Blu-ray since this edit was made. And I look forward to watching the second edit of this anthology, "Two Glorious Bastards" by boon - if I can get my hands on it.
I first saw Once Upon a Time in the West a couple months ago, and while I enjoyed it, it was painfully slow. When the final duel took place and the reveal of who Harmonica was, it made me realise that the film really should've been about Harmonica & Frank's rivalry, and not the extraneous plotlines that took up most of the film. This edit is exactly what I wanted from this film. It cuts over half of the film's run-time, yet does not feel rushed at all. TMBTM wisely chooses which scenes to keep and which to cut. Additionally, a lot of kept scenes are tightened, which fixes the poor pacing of the original. It's hard to believe the original runs at nearly 3 hours after watching this.
(Spoilers for the edit)
Cheyenne is completely cut. While I liked his character, he was not necessary to Harmonica's story, and this edit really proves that.
Comments on the edit:
*not a fan of the rescore with the hip-hop Harmonic theme at the McBain farm shooting, and the final stand-off. The original has more weight to it.
*very good cut making it seem like the train it cuts to (after the McBain farm shooting) is the train Harmonica is on in the opening scene.
*Re-orders scenes so that Harmonica looking for Frank comes after Frank being introduced via the McBain farm shooting. Good choice, as now the audience know who Harmonica is after.
*The cut between Frank threatening Harmonica and shooting Wobbles is quite sudden.
*The intercutting of 2 (or 3?) different scenes to make it look like Morton releases Harmonica and pays him to go after Frank is very, very clever. This cut is crucial in eliminating Cheyenne from the film.
*Perhaps more should've have been kept between Frank & Morton to explain their conflict better, since in this edit it's not that clear why Morton decides to have Frank killed. I guess we can assume Morton saw Frank as a rival and decided to kill him before Frank replaced him.
*Minor gripe, but I would've ended the film on a shot of Harmonica rather than Jill.
Overall, this was a brilliant edit, and it'll definitely be my go-to on future re-watches of "...in the West". TMBTM has really done an excellent job here of creating a more concise and slightly altered narrative which is, in my opinion, superior to that of the original's.
Would really like to see this remastered (preferably without the hip hop rescore) one day in HD, as the film has been re-released on Blu-ray since this edit was made. And I look forward to watching the second edit of this anthology, "Two Glorious Bastards" by boon - if I can get my hands on it.
(Updated: March 08, 2013)
Overall rating
9.5
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
10.0
January 3, 2012 @ 6:02 am
I rewatched this recently and realized I hadn’t rated it or written a review. I’ll make it short and sweet.
Harmonica: Perfect. Loved it. The story flowed greatly considering all the major cuts TMBTM made. 10/10
Two Glorious Bastards: Amazing editing by Boon. Not only did he delete one of the three title characters with ease he did some incredible sound work. Sure, not all the Cash songs work well, but it was really well done. The only complaint about this one is the audio levels on a couple of the songs seemed a little high for my ears (sorry I don’t know the names of which songs). 9/10
EDITED TO ADD: I watched the "Making of" clip that details the sound editing work done. I wish I could give it a 9.5, a lot of work went into editing Two Glorious Bastards.
DVD: Awesome work. Menus are beautiful. Special Features are great, especially Boon’s explanation of the audio editing he did. And I always get a kick out of seeing a BlueYoda mashup. 10/10
Overall score: 9/10, Almost Perfect.
I rewatched this recently and realized I hadn’t rated it or written a review. I’ll make it short and sweet.
Harmonica: Perfect. Loved it. The story flowed greatly considering all the major cuts TMBTM made. 10/10
Two Glorious Bastards: Amazing editing by Boon. Not only did he delete one of the three title characters with ease he did some incredible sound work. Sure, not all the Cash songs work well, but it was really well done. The only complaint about this one is the audio levels on a couple of the songs seemed a little high for my ears (sorry I don’t know the names of which songs). 9/10
EDITED TO ADD: I watched the "Making of" clip that details the sound editing work done. I wish I could give it a 9.5, a lot of work went into editing Two Glorious Bastards.
DVD: Awesome work. Menus are beautiful. Special Features are great, especially Boon’s explanation of the audio editing he did. And I always get a kick out of seeing a BlueYoda mashup. 10/10
Overall score: 9/10, Almost Perfect.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
DVD
(Updated: September 03, 2012)
Overall rating
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
N/A
Audio Editing
N/A
Visual Editing
N/A
Narrative
N/A
Enjoyment
9.0
April 3, 2011 @ 2:52 am
*This rating was given before reviews were required*
*This rating was given before reviews were required*
(Updated: September 03, 2012)
Overall rating
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
N/A
Audio Editing
N/A
Visual Editing
N/A
Narrative
N/A
Enjoyment
9.0
February 27, 2011 @ 2:14 am
When I first read about this project I was filled with both excitement and intrepidation.
Not only are these two movies iconic legendary Westerns,
they are also personal favorites which I have viewed dozens of times over the years.
Thus, I was very curious what these two master fan editors could accomplish
and what my reaction would be to two movie I pretty much consider “perfect”.
So enough of my rambling, lets get to the heart of it.
WARNING! There may be SPOILERS in my review.
First off, the DVD Menu design is fantastic. Perfect in tone for these two Spagetti Westerns.
It is on par with any professionally produced dvd I have ever seen.
Well done.
The Bonus Features were all very nice. A mix of trailers, behind the scenes and About This Edit info.
The Blue Yoda feature was really cool, clearly demostrating the power of music in movies.
All in all, very enjoyable.
On to the main features….
HARMONICA:
The editting removal of Jason Robards is sheer brilliance. TMBM has cleanly excised the Cheyanne character from the movie, and the narrative does not seem to suffer too much from it. This an example of very talented and skilled editting. TMBM should be proud of this feat.
The reorganizing of the opening scenes works pretty well. Though having the McBain boy come running out after Frank and his men emerge seemed odd to me. Would he have not heard all the gunfire and peeked out the door earlier?
The newly restructured Train Station shoot out works well, though cutting immediately from the gunfight to gorgous Claudia Cardinale at another Train Station had me confused for a brief second. Was she at the same station? Did she see the gunfight? I almost thought an establishing shot would have been good there.
The new music when Cardinale views the McBain bodies is absolutely beautiful and greatly enhanced the scene. Great pick TMTM!!!
Though I think the lyric subtitles were an unnecessary distraction. The emotion in the singer’s voice carries the moment, I don’t think the audience needs the english translation. But the audio work here is excellent.
The narrative progresses nicely throughout, the cuts are all clean and transitions are smooth. Though I think through the editting process, Claudia Cardinale’s character now comes across as unsympathic and some what ill defined, and perhaps that was the intention. But some her best moments were definitely lost in this version, which is too bad.
The recut final showdown was well done. Clever use of Cardinale’s reaction shots to Robards inserted here, though it was the only time the cut felt somewhat “forced” to me. I do like the implications of this version. Again well done.
So on a technical level, I would score everything high 9′s and 10′s. Clearly the work of an editor at the top of his craft.
TWO GLORIOUS BASTARDS:
An edit by the legendary Boone is always a pleasure to watch. His creative choices in this edit are bold and innovative.
If you watch this edit for no other reason, watch it for the Audio Editting.
It is a technical masterpiece in terms of removing dialogue and background music, and then adding new music and sound f/x!
In fact, make certain you watch Boone’s bonus featurette on Inserting Johnny Cash,
it is an eye opener and entertaining. So a solid 10 for audio editing.
The removal of Lee Van Cleef from the storyline is perfect.
You would never known he had existed if you had not seen the movie before.
And like TMBM all other cuts are clean and smooth. Again, pefect 10 for technical editting.
Now on to the big issue, the Johnny Cash music!
First off, I must tip my hat to Boone to have the creative courage to edit out one of the most famous movie scores in cinema history!!!
But does it work?
The Ennio Morricone music in TGTB&TU is pivotal to the longevity and appeal of this movie. It is both a main character and the unseen narrator to the story. Thus, if you are going to remove it, you better replace it with something of equal weight and power.
And Johnny Cash definitely as both those qualities in spades. But does it fit the movie?
Honestly, for me, it was very hit and miss. I enjoying the opening, and the music while Eastwood and Wallace are pulling their Hangman Scam and even the music during the desert was clever. But once we arrive at the Civil War battlefield, the music felt forced and heavy handed, and the music completely did not work for me during the cemetary scenes.
But this may be in part because the original soundtrack is so ingrained into my brain that I am having a hard time seperating the fan edit from the original. An interesting side note, I watched TWO GLORIOUS BASTARDS with my daughter who has never watched the original movie and even she commented several times about the music about how much she liked it. So there there you go, two very different reactions.
So two great technical master edits. Definitely worth watching.
But on an entertainment level, how well do they work?
Interestingly, I always found Sergio Leone’s two big epic westerns to be a tad long. But now, after watching these two truncated versions, it gave me a better appreciation for his genius as a storyteller. His command over subtle character traits and long silences are the stuff of legend. And I found myself missing these elements in these new versions. Again, I may be having great difficulty seperating my love for the originals.
Do these new narratives work? Absolutely!!!
They are expertly crafted with a definitive beginning, middle and ending. I found them enjoyable and I am very happy I took the opportunity to watch them. But are they my preferred version? No, of course not. But the editors made it very clear, these edits are not meant to be improvements or replacements. But they are a wonderful showcase of what fan editting is capable of and what we can all aspire to.
So do yourself a favour, and check out THE UGLY WEST,
you won’t be disappointed.
If I had to give a final overall score:
HARMONIC 9/10 for Tech and 8.5/10 for Story/Entertainment
TWO GLORIOUS BASTARDS 10/10 for Tech and 8/10 for Story/Entertainment (sorry Mr. Cash)
Giving us a Grand Score of 8.8/10
When I first read about this project I was filled with both excitement and intrepidation.
Not only are these two movies iconic legendary Westerns,
they are also personal favorites which I have viewed dozens of times over the years.
Thus, I was very curious what these two master fan editors could accomplish
and what my reaction would be to two movie I pretty much consider “perfect”.
So enough of my rambling, lets get to the heart of it.
WARNING! There may be SPOILERS in my review.
First off, the DVD Menu design is fantastic. Perfect in tone for these two Spagetti Westerns.
It is on par with any professionally produced dvd I have ever seen.
Well done.
The Bonus Features were all very nice. A mix of trailers, behind the scenes and About This Edit info.
The Blue Yoda feature was really cool, clearly demostrating the power of music in movies.
All in all, very enjoyable.
On to the main features….
HARMONICA:
The editting removal of Jason Robards is sheer brilliance. TMBM has cleanly excised the Cheyanne character from the movie, and the narrative does not seem to suffer too much from it. This an example of very talented and skilled editting. TMBM should be proud of this feat.
The reorganizing of the opening scenes works pretty well. Though having the McBain boy come running out after Frank and his men emerge seemed odd to me. Would he have not heard all the gunfire and peeked out the door earlier?
The newly restructured Train Station shoot out works well, though cutting immediately from the gunfight to gorgous Claudia Cardinale at another Train Station had me confused for a brief second. Was she at the same station? Did she see the gunfight? I almost thought an establishing shot would have been good there.
The new music when Cardinale views the McBain bodies is absolutely beautiful and greatly enhanced the scene. Great pick TMTM!!!
Though I think the lyric subtitles were an unnecessary distraction. The emotion in the singer’s voice carries the moment, I don’t think the audience needs the english translation. But the audio work here is excellent.
The narrative progresses nicely throughout, the cuts are all clean and transitions are smooth. Though I think through the editting process, Claudia Cardinale’s character now comes across as unsympathic and some what ill defined, and perhaps that was the intention. But some her best moments were definitely lost in this version, which is too bad.
The recut final showdown was well done. Clever use of Cardinale’s reaction shots to Robards inserted here, though it was the only time the cut felt somewhat “forced” to me. I do like the implications of this version. Again well done.
So on a technical level, I would score everything high 9′s and 10′s. Clearly the work of an editor at the top of his craft.
TWO GLORIOUS BASTARDS:
An edit by the legendary Boone is always a pleasure to watch. His creative choices in this edit are bold and innovative.
If you watch this edit for no other reason, watch it for the Audio Editting.
It is a technical masterpiece in terms of removing dialogue and background music, and then adding new music and sound f/x!
In fact, make certain you watch Boone’s bonus featurette on Inserting Johnny Cash,
it is an eye opener and entertaining. So a solid 10 for audio editing.
The removal of Lee Van Cleef from the storyline is perfect.
You would never known he had existed if you had not seen the movie before.
And like TMBM all other cuts are clean and smooth. Again, pefect 10 for technical editting.
Now on to the big issue, the Johnny Cash music!
First off, I must tip my hat to Boone to have the creative courage to edit out one of the most famous movie scores in cinema history!!!
But does it work?
The Ennio Morricone music in TGTB&TU is pivotal to the longevity and appeal of this movie. It is both a main character and the unseen narrator to the story. Thus, if you are going to remove it, you better replace it with something of equal weight and power.
And Johnny Cash definitely as both those qualities in spades. But does it fit the movie?
Honestly, for me, it was very hit and miss. I enjoying the opening, and the music while Eastwood and Wallace are pulling their Hangman Scam and even the music during the desert was clever. But once we arrive at the Civil War battlefield, the music felt forced and heavy handed, and the music completely did not work for me during the cemetary scenes.
But this may be in part because the original soundtrack is so ingrained into my brain that I am having a hard time seperating the fan edit from the original. An interesting side note, I watched TWO GLORIOUS BASTARDS with my daughter who has never watched the original movie and even she commented several times about the music about how much she liked it. So there there you go, two very different reactions.
So two great technical master edits. Definitely worth watching.
But on an entertainment level, how well do they work?
Interestingly, I always found Sergio Leone’s two big epic westerns to be a tad long. But now, after watching these two truncated versions, it gave me a better appreciation for his genius as a storyteller. His command over subtle character traits and long silences are the stuff of legend. And I found myself missing these elements in these new versions. Again, I may be having great difficulty seperating my love for the originals.
Do these new narratives work? Absolutely!!!
They are expertly crafted with a definitive beginning, middle and ending. I found them enjoyable and I am very happy I took the opportunity to watch them. But are they my preferred version? No, of course not. But the editors made it very clear, these edits are not meant to be improvements or replacements. But they are a wonderful showcase of what fan editting is capable of and what we can all aspire to.
So do yourself a favour, and check out THE UGLY WEST,
you won’t be disappointed.
If I had to give a final overall score:
HARMONIC 9/10 for Tech and 8.5/10 for Story/Entertainment
TWO GLORIOUS BASTARDS 10/10 for Tech and 8/10 for Story/Entertainment (sorry Mr. Cash)
Giving us a Grand Score of 8.8/10
User reviews
8 reviews
Overall rating
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
9.0(3)
Audio Editing
9.0(3)
Visual Editing
9.7(3)
Narrative
9.0(3)
Enjoyment
8.9(8)
Overall rating
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
9.0
Harmonica: As a massive fan of the Once Upon A Time in the West, Sergio Leone and spaghetti westerns in general, this was a really fun watch. The removal of Cheyenne was very well done, especially how you got Harmonica off the train. The rescore was definitely the weakest point of the edit, not bad, I liked the music from Kill Bill, but the Harmonica's hip-hop theme used at the beginning and end didn't work. Will definitely watch again and strongly recommend.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Overall rating
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
8.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
9.0
Thank you Boon and TMBTM! :]X
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
DVD
(Updated: December 17, 2012)
Overall rating
8.5
Audio/Video Quality
9.0
Audio Editing
8.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
8.0
Enjoyment
8.0
The Ugly West has been high on my must see list and having purchased / watched the two films recently I wanted to see how much these edits would differ from the originals. A Sergio Leone film can be a hard slog to sit all the way through and while these two edits aren't meant to improve the originals but to give a more digestible version to two Sergio Leone classics.
First up was Harmonica a very shortened version of Once Upon A Time in the West though its core story line is very much intact. I have to be honest and say the musical changes made weren't to my taste neither the more dance/remix version of Ennio Morricone score I didn't like nor the inclusion of the music used in Kill Bill. I can understand the idea as Tarantino himself used the music of Ennio Morricone within his two Kill Bill films, but I just feel this music is so inferior to the original it took away from the final epic confrontation between Harmonica and Frank.
Another problem I had with the edit was just how did Harmonica get off the train? Last we saw of him was tied up on the train, next we see of him bidding on the McBain property. Apologizes to the editor if I missed something but I didn't fully understand what had just happened. At first I thought Harmonica was in cahoots with Morton, when the large amount of money was taken out of the drawer but then this would totally go against the character of Harmonica who has his own agenda. During the bidding we flashback to the train in which the Morton hands out $500 to his men to bid on the property though the men at the bidding are completely different. Again apologizes if I missed something but looking at the deleted scenes I couldn't help but think that the character of Cheyenne should have been included. It would have given the edit a longer run time that I felt it deserved but I also feel the character of Harmonica needed someone to play off as his agenda is with Frank and not with Jill McBain.
Overall I felt this was a solid but unspectacular edit compared to TMBTM previous efforts; 7/10.
The second edit by CBB titled Two Glorious Bastards feels like watching a totally new film, compared to the original. If the music of Johnny Cash was going to be used to a particular genre then a Western would be it. The songs chosen are all very good and often tell the story were seeing on screen, only once with the inclusion of hurt did I feel was unnecessary.
Not once did I feel the character played by Lee Van Cleef was missing from the story his character is just as good as Good/Ugly. It would have been a nice touch to have him cameo in both films (even though Lee Van Cleef doesn't appear in OUATITW there is a train scene from A few Dollars more that could maybe have been used) if just to acknowledge the actor but also connect the two edits, but of course this may go against the editors intent for the edit.
The film The Good the Bad and the Ugly is a classic that is hard to improve on, this edit however doesn't try to do that but offers a classic alternative. 9/10 This is a great concept for a fanedit and isn't hard to see why it's considered a must have within the fanedit community.
The overall presentation is also very well done with the DVD menus and extras giving the edit a very professional look / feel. Overall score 8.5
First up was Harmonica a very shortened version of Once Upon A Time in the West though its core story line is very much intact. I have to be honest and say the musical changes made weren't to my taste neither the more dance/remix version of Ennio Morricone score I didn't like nor the inclusion of the music used in Kill Bill. I can understand the idea as Tarantino himself used the music of Ennio Morricone within his two Kill Bill films, but I just feel this music is so inferior to the original it took away from the final epic confrontation between Harmonica and Frank.
Another problem I had with the edit was just how did Harmonica get off the train? Last we saw of him was tied up on the train, next we see of him bidding on the McBain property. Apologizes to the editor if I missed something but I didn't fully understand what had just happened. At first I thought Harmonica was in cahoots with Morton, when the large amount of money was taken out of the drawer but then this would totally go against the character of Harmonica who has his own agenda. During the bidding we flashback to the train in which the Morton hands out $500 to his men to bid on the property though the men at the bidding are completely different. Again apologizes if I missed something but looking at the deleted scenes I couldn't help but think that the character of Cheyenne should have been included. It would have given the edit a longer run time that I felt it deserved but I also feel the character of Harmonica needed someone to play off as his agenda is with Frank and not with Jill McBain.
Overall I felt this was a solid but unspectacular edit compared to TMBTM previous efforts; 7/10.
The second edit by CBB titled Two Glorious Bastards feels like watching a totally new film, compared to the original. If the music of Johnny Cash was going to be used to a particular genre then a Western would be it. The songs chosen are all very good and often tell the story were seeing on screen, only once with the inclusion of hurt did I feel was unnecessary.
Not once did I feel the character played by Lee Van Cleef was missing from the story his character is just as good as Good/Ugly. It would have been a nice touch to have him cameo in both films (even though Lee Van Cleef doesn't appear in OUATITW there is a train scene from A few Dollars more that could maybe have been used) if just to acknowledge the actor but also connect the two edits, but of course this may go against the editors intent for the edit.
The film The Good the Bad and the Ugly is a classic that is hard to improve on, this edit however doesn't try to do that but offers a classic alternative. 9/10 This is a great concept for a fanedit and isn't hard to see why it's considered a must have within the fanedit community.
The overall presentation is also very well done with the DVD menus and extras giving the edit a very professional look / feel. Overall score 8.5
(Updated: September 03, 2012)
Overall rating
8.0
Audio/Video Quality
N/A
Audio Editing
N/A
Visual Editing
N/A
Narrative
N/A
Enjoyment
8.0
December 10, 2011 @ 8:45 pm
*This rating was given before reviews were required*
*This rating was given before reviews were required*
(Updated: September 03, 2012)
Overall rating
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
N/A
Audio Editing
N/A
Visual Editing
N/A
Narrative
N/A
Enjoyment
9.0
October 14, 2011 @ 4:36 pm
*This rating was given before reviews were required*
*This rating was given before reviews were required*
